Otoko

The intimacy and attention to detail of a Kyoto kaiseki, the energy and excitement of modern Austin and lighting design of Stanley Kubrick. Otoko is a gorgeous, transportive, exclusive trip. And the leader of the experience, chef Yoshi Okai, contributes to the mischievous art, with his wicked but disarming smile, effervescent but opaque enthusiasm and elegant plating of striking flavors.

A tiny, crunchy freshwater crab blends playfulness and menace atop the woodsy umami crunch of fried shiitake and chayote squash to start a meal that turns to a run of exquisite sushi like scored kampachi brushed with nikiri; a meaty and creamy kushi oyster; shima aji speckled with toasty black sesame; and madai slicked with the sweet-sour-grassy-and-salty symphony of matcha oil. Dinner’s soundtrack of 8-bit acid trip music, like something from a demented Nintendo game, buzzes in our minds and prickly pear sorbet on our palates as we slink next door to sip an after-dinner Japanese highball from barman Bjorn Taylor at the evocative Watertrade, Austin’s answer to a Shinjuku whiskey bar, minus the fancy suits.